Every objective analyst who follows Pakistan has come to the same conclusion – Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is becoming a serious threat not only to the country, but also to the entire democratic system that is already under tremendous stress. In fact, it is pretty much established that some behind the scene players in Pakistan […]
Almost lost in the shuffle of Jacob Zuma’s personal controversies was his State of the Union address, which he delivered on Thursday night. As one observer has noted, Zuma tried to appropriate Nelson Mandela. That legitimate politics and policies will get buried as the result of Zuma’s indiscretion is precisely the problem with those indiscretions, […]
The BNP is taking an increasingly strident and unyielding line against the governing Awami League. Quite apart from boycotting Parliament and thereby refusing to participate in governance, the opposition BNP is threatening an oust-government movement. This move comes after an the assassination of a leader of the youth group affiliated with the BNP. Though, the […]
From the African Studies Centre at Leiden: 11 February 2010 marks 20 years since the apartheid regime of South Africa unbanned the African National Congress and other liberation movements, and released Nelson Mandela from prison. The Library, Documentation and Information Department of the African Studies Centre Leiden has compiled a web dossier to coincide with […]
Free advice for Congress of the People (COPE) leader Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota: If you are going to condemn President Jacob Zuma for what you assert are his moral lapses, you probably ought not to be guilty of very similar transgressions.
ANC Youth League Leader Julius Malema is a lightning rod for controversy. But I fail to see how his most recent remarks, in which he asserted that former President FW de Klerk is “not a hero” and was a “product of apartheid,” are worthy of disapproval, never mind punishment. The truth is usually a good […]
The PPA has a new blog, and it might be the awesomest blog ever. Go check yoself the FPA Music and Global Affairs Blog. Just please return back here. I fear that Robert is going to put forth a flurry of content making the rest of us irrelevant in your eyes.
Vietnam: The Vietnamese government is trying to gather international support to bolster itself in it’s long-standing territorial disputes with China over the Paracel Islands. China has held military control over the majority of the islands for 30 years, and this year has announced its desire to set up tourism facilities in the archipelago. In response, […]
Zainab Jeewanjee discusses Vice President Joseph Biden’s recent interview on Larry King. Biden named Pakistan as a bigger “concern” than Afghanistan and Jeewanjee discusses his rationale.
This Valentine’s Day will mark the fifth anniversary of Rafik Hariri’s death. The former Prime Minister and 22 others were killed in an explosion near the Beirut seaside on February 14, 2005. Hariri is often described as a strangely popular, larger-than-life figure in Lebanon. Making his fortune in business, Hariri’s popularity extended across sectarian lines. […]
Roger Cohen’s latest op-ed in the New York Times condemns the Obama administration and Israel for failing to achieve progress in the peace process. Even though President Barack Obama has attempted to establish a new paradigm for working with Israel and its neighbors, the administration has stumbled into the same old habits, according to Cohen. […]
Recent events in Iran have brought its relationship with China into sharp focus. Yesterday’s crackdown on protesters commemorating the revolution in Iran elicited numerous comparisons to Tiananmen Square (though not nearly on the scale of the comparisons made in the aftermath of the June 12th protests). The government’s crackdown on internet activity smacked of the […]
Nabucco, the gas pipeline that will transport energy to Europe without Gazprom, has always been tentative. Turkmenistan, the main supplier, seems to have over-stretched itself, with export promises to China, Russia, and Iran. The other main source, Azerbaijan’s Shah-Deniz field, is under dispute with Turkey over pricing. OMV, an Austrian firm, isn’t sure there is […]
It is heartwarming to see India and Pakistan start talking, again. For years, both sides have realized that they have to deal with each other, but domestic political pressure forces leadership in both countries to instead engage in bravado, which is obviously pleasing the hawks on both sides of the border. However, this hypocritical attitude […]
Bangladesh is a firm contributor to the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces (UNPKF). In Africa and now Haiti, soldiers from the Bangladesh Armed Forces have helped in whatever security and peace keeping issue that looms ahead for the more or less inert United Nations. Perhaps, though Bangladesh’s presence within the UNPKF is a simple move, a […]